Benavidez’s Promoter Is Unsure If Morrell Is Next
David Benavidez’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, is unsure if the Mexican Monster will fight David Morrell Jr. next.
Benavidez is coming off his first win against Oleksandr Gvozdyk at light heavyweight as he became the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion, making him mandatory for the winner of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. They fight on October 12 for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship. Benavidez wants to remain active as reports emerged that he could fight in December. He was first linked with David Morrell Jr. as he confirmed that talks were ongoing. Morrell is the WBA Interim Light Heavyweight Champion, meaning the winner would have an even stronger claim to getting a title shot next.
Morrell is an undefeated knockout artist with an 11-0 record. This includes nine knockouts. He had his first fight at 175 pounds as he beat Radivoje Kalajdzic in a unanimous decision. However, Benavidez confirmed that Morrell would be a future opponent, thus ruling out facing the Cuban next. Jesse Hart was then named as a leading name for that next fight, with suggestions that he could face Benavidez in December on a card featuring Gervonta Davis.
Benavidez’s Next Fight
Hart is not the biggest name, with fans becoming dissatisfied with that opponent. Although there is no official confirmation, Benavidez is likely to have one more fight, as he then targets an undisputed title shot at some point next year. Benavidez’s promoter, however, remained coy on who he would fight next. He stated that Morrell’s lawyer has represented himself throughout the years, meaning that there would be a conflict of interest if he were to get involved in a Morrell fight. That has left fans none the wiser, with Benavidez’s next bout unclear.
“Let me put it this way. The promoter of [David] Morrell is my lawyer for 30 years. So, it would be a conflict of interest to represent me. So I’m out of the deal. I don’t know who he [Benavidez] is fighting next and who will be next,” Sampson Lewkowicz said
Benavidez Vs. Canelo
Nevertheless, if Benavidez desires to secure the biggest fights, he must increase his quality of opposition. His previous big fight was when he faced Caleb Plant last year. He outboxed Plant to overpower him to eventually win a unanimous decision. He then followed that up by beating two-weight world champion Demetrius Andrade. His attempts to get the Canelo Alvarez fight at super middleweight failed.
He then eventually moved up to 175 pounds. Benavidez said he could face Canelo at 175 if he becomes undisputed. Alvarez reportedly would want to face Bivol if the latter beats Beterbiev in a rematch of their first encounter. And if Benavidez can position himself for all the bells, then that gives Canelo a greater incentive to take that leap and meet him at 175 pounds to decide who is the best light heavyweight of this era.
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